Newsom seeks college accounts for kindergarteners

Education S.F. mayor seeks accounts for all kindergartners

Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 28, 2010

Photo: Reed Saxon, File, AP

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

FILE - In this April 17, 2010, San Francisco Mayor and candidate for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom in the June primary, walks through the crowd at the California Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. Newsom is challengedby Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn. less

FILE - In this April 17, 2010, San Francisco Mayor and candidate for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom in the June primary, walks through the crowd at the California Democratic ... more

Photo: Reed Saxon, File, AP

Newsom seeks college accounts for kindergarteners

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Some say everyone should go to college. Mayor Gavin Newsom is trying to ensure that's the case in San Francisco.

Every child who enters kindergarten at one of San Francisco's public schools will get his or her own city-funded college savings account under a groundbreaking program officials plan to begin rolling out this fall, despite the current budget woes that will force layoffs and service cuts in other areas.

The deposits would be small - $50 to start, $100 for lower-income children - but the hope is that they will pay huge dividends, teaching students about saving and budgeting while forging the conviction that a college education is within reach.

"I believe that every single child should be born not necessarily into wealth, but into opportunity," Newsom said. "Once a mind is stretched, it can never go back."

"It's all about building aspirations - knowing they have a shot at being successful," said city Treasurer Jose Cisneros, who developed the program with Newsom after seeing the success of their plan to offer affordable banking services to low-income workers who relied on payday loans and check-cashing centers.

Gradual rollout

The college savings program will begin gradually, starting this fall with 1,250 children - roughly 25 percent of incoming kindergartners - at 18 public elementary schools across the city. Next year, the program is to expand to cover 50 percent of incoming kindergartners, with full coverage planned for the third year.

Students will get a trust account in their name with $50 from city coffers - $100 if they qualify for the federal government's free or reduced-price lunch program, city officials said.

The plan is to have corporations, nonprofit groups and others offer matching incentives to encourage children and their families to save.

EARN, a nonprofit that specializes in micro-loans and financial options for low-income workers, will contribute $100 for every student whose family also saves $100 during the first years of the program. EARN President Ben Mangan said the group has already raised $120,000 for the effort.

More deposits, other matches and compounding interest over about 12 years will go a long way toward paying for college, officials hope.

Funding the program

Of course, there is the real issue of paying for the program as the city struggles to cope with a historic $483 million budget deficit for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

In the first year, the program will cost less than $200,000, and Newsom is expected to include $400,000 in his budget to be submitted next week to the Board of Supervisors to cover the first two years of the program.

The cost would increase the following year, though, as the program expands. The proposal would have to survive budget negotiations but might attract diverse support. For example, Supervisor David Campos, who has clashed with the mayor on issues ranging from the city's sanctuary city policy to Newsom's proposed ban on sitting or lying on the sidewalk, backs it. "The fact that these are tough economic times doesn't mean that you don't make that investment," Campos said. Proponents say the initial investment is dwarfed by the payback: creating a workforce able to compete in an increasingly global economy, helping pull people out of poverty and lessening the pressure on social services.

Some skepticism

"Getting a college degree now is pretty much comparable to getting a high school degree in the 1950s," Cisneros said.

Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, often a Newsom ally, said he had opposed a similar idea several years ago and remains skeptical.

"I doubt now is the right time to create a new general fund entitlement program," Elsbernd said, arguing that the social safety net already faces a funding shortfall. Newsom maintains that it is a relatively small appropriation in a $6.6 billion budget and the morally correct thing to do.

"This one I will fight to the end to get it in the budget," Newsom said. "I believe in it that much. ... I want to be there when they graduate and see the faces of these kids."

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.